Carpe Diem Baby!

When was the last time you felt a sense of awe over a picture?

Look at this…
And read its caption..

“Monstrous waves that oftentimes creates a sound akin to thunder and produces a thud similar to gentle earthquake as it hits the breakwaters”

Captions make the picture more illustrative...or even more poetic at that…can even make the picture more inspiring.

But maybe you’ll say, “oh yeah, alright, great shot. Just one of the many pictures I’ve seen over in the internet or in some gift shops in SM Megamall”…and I’d say, “I agree…but this picture (and a lot more of it) means so much to me…You know why?...This was taken by a good friend of mine, Romulus Rueda.. He is pretty close to me since he is my kababayan, and had been my buddy when we were still in high school.”

Understandably, you will be swollen with pride when you know that a masterpiece was made by a person very known to you….But what made me even prouder, and amazed to an unimaginable extent, is the thought that I have never expected it from my friend. I have never thought that he, who apparently had this secret gift, would ever make me inspire by his works.


And here’s another stimulating shot… buzzing like flies
Note : This photo was published in one Inquirer newspaper issue.

Another one…. Night Lights

And another one…
God's Ray

But, you may ask, who is this Romulus anyway…

Well, I’ll just give a backgrounder…I have passed to describe him because I am avoiding a very long entry. I just cannot describe him in a short paragraph. It won’t do justice.

Anyway,

Romulus Rueda is also Raymond, Raymund, Rueda or Mhond to me. He is sometimes Daboy as well. He resembles the late Rudy Fernandez?? NOT!!. Actually, I haven’t figured out why he was called Daboy. I’ll ask him anyway…. We were both schooled at the Ateneo de Naga University in Camarines Sur, Bicol Region.I have known him for some extent since I am frequent visitor of their old house in Isarog St.. Back then, we listen to our “kind of music” all day..Grunge, Metal, Trash, Alternatives, you name it..Some of the popular bands we’ve been listening to were Silverchair, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and list goes on.And take note, we were listening to TAPES. Back then, CDs are still a bit way out of our student budget. Take note guys, they are already available then (we are not that old, huh!), we just can’t afford it…We would seldom exchange TAPES for us to maximize our budgets.

So Mhond, is a “Metal”..Pronounced as Met-tal..He is not a hip-hop.At least back in our high school days......But I am sure we are more diversed now.No longer caught between the Met-tal and Hip-Hop thing.We have moved on.

And moved on indeed for Raymond..He had moved with leaps and bounds. He is now far cry from his high school image. He had definitely had grown, and moved from a lunky kid to a man.....and a thinking man!

Let me share with you how he describes himself now.I took the liberty on”copy pasting” this from his blogsite. I hope he will not mind..

He says…

I would normally say that i am a photographer, writer, painter, traveller, loner, daydreamer, programmer, biker, boxer. Then sometimes depending on my moods i can be all or none of the above. This blog is my stab to the reality of chasing the lights and realizing that sometimes it is worth the chase and sometimes it isn't. But regardless of whatever it is that i may encounter in my journeys, all of which is still an adventure.
Carpe Diem Baby!

And Carpe Diem indeed..Look at his pictures. Taken through his eyes.See and feel how Mhond seizes the moment, seizes the day, seizes the beauty that surrounds him.

Mhond now had become an inspiration to me more than ever. I could see him through his works, his photographs...He has more than meets the eye.

With this entry, I am hoping that I would be able to re-introduce my friend to the world that we both live in. To our friends, to our family, to our officemates, to our schoolmates, to all the people he and I had known. And we will be meeting in the future..

Through this entry as well, may I thank Mhond.I asked him if I could make a blog on him and grab some of his pictures posted on his site.He immediately agreed.No qualms..And of course, no royalty.What good old friends are for anyway.

To end this entry, I will leave you with one final note.

....Mhond, behind his wonderful works, had remained truly down-to-earth.He may or may not see what he has done, but I hope, he will continue doing it. You inspire people........You have inspired me.

Kudos!

As Mhond would say, Carpe Diem Baby!

May you continue Chasing the Lights....

To re-discover Mhond, just click this.

More on Mhond's thru his Multiply Site.